It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I began to develop selfacceptance of being a transvestite. I had been crossdressing in secret whenever I had the opportunity since childhood, but in those early years I was totally unaware there were others who had the same urge as me. It had been quite a revelation to me when I discovered that I was not alone. In my late thirties, I eventually became aware of the Beaumont Society which was a very secretive organisation in those days - but I had already largely come to terms with my own transvestism by the time I joined the Society.
Photo by Safety Pin Ups -www.safetypin-ups.com
In 1979, aged 40, I decided to buy a house in Sheffield with the idea of setting it up to provide comprehensive facilities, and the sort of help for other cross-dressers that I would have welcomed whilst struggling to understand my own transvestism. This was known as Rose’s House where I held monthly social evenings and parties which soon became very popular with people coming from all over the UK as there were no others like it at that time. The house was open for visits at any time by TVs who were unable to dress at home and too nervous to come when others were present. I advertised Rose’s House in Exchange and Mart and contact-magazines, gave talks to the Samaritans and University students, and my phone became a helpline (several years before the BS introduced one). I’d usually get a few calls each day and I was often thanked by callers for helping them when they were on the point of suicide.